Bring Me the Sun
by stripedcow
Summary: Before he was the ruthless Ruler of the Underworld and she a princess meant to break the world of a century long's curse, they were simply Killian and Emma.
1. Prologue: Beware the Four Brothers

**Prologue: Beware the Four Brothers**

 **A/N: I watched Labyrinth late at night while reading Wintersong and catching up on my greek mythology. This was the result.**

 **Before anyone says anything, let me answer a few questions first. Will you ever finish The Opposite of Loneliness? YES. Resounding yes. It's actually my resolution to finish that story. Are updates on this going to be frequent? Yes yes and yes. I promise. I PROMISE. Right now I've got this story mapped out and I'm really excited for it, so you'll probably see an influx of updates on this story before an update on TOoL.**

Once, when the earth was still young, a powerful deity controlled the ways of the world. He decided when the sun set and when the moon rose. With a flick of a wrist, tides formed and crashed forcefully on the sand he warmed with his breath. Artists, writers, and musicians had him to thank for their beautiful paintings, heartwrenching sonnets, and breathtaking concertos. Many would travel across treacherous waters, dangerous lands, and various realms just for the opportunity to lay tribute at his alter deep in the Enchanted Forest. Those that flocked to him fed his strength and unsurprisingly his influence continued to grow, untethered and uncontrolled, throughout the years.

However, unbeknownst to his many admirers, the more power he was given, the greedier he became. What was once a bright light shining on a dark world turned into something more sinister. No longer did he cast a warm glow around the lives of those he touched. His presence once comforting became searing, blistering. Music dissolved into nothing more than dissonant screeches clawing out of taught strings as they begged for escape while art twisted onto itself to form grotesque creatures. What was once beautiful turned into a type of deformed perversion. Soon enough neighbor turned against neighbor, brother against brother, daughter against mother, as a sun too hot dried up the lands, boiled the waters, and threw existence into a state of perpetual chaos. Before long, those who once worshipped him began to resent him. Those with cunning began to whisper about stripping the deity of his power. Talks of potions, spells, and enchantments were gathered by the wind as they bounced like marbles off the branches and leaves deep in the forest.

Enraged by the betrayal and fearful that one day his enemies would try to snatch away his gifts, he thought of a plan to ensure that it would be impossible for any single entity to take what was rightfully his. In a fit of rage, he cursed the realms into an endless night filled with unrest, bloodshed, and violence.

Then, he split a portion of his heart into four shards.

The first and largest shard, he named Liam. Full of leadership and prowess, he placed him in the sea so he could reign over the waters and keep seafarers in their place. And thus was born the Ruler of the Sea.

The second, smaller but still potent, he named Graham. Bloodthirsty and cunning, he placed him in the forest in the hopes that he would continue to feed man's inner beast. With the help of his wolf, he planted the seeds of hatred in every man's heart. And thus was born the Ruler of War.

The third, sensitive and creative, but nonetheless filled with hate, he named August. Created with a chisel in one hand and a mallet in the other, he carved intricate designs of powerful weapons in the minds of vengeful men. And thus was born the Ruler of Sinister Creation.

The final shard, small and chipped, he almost discarded. Filled with a sense of shame that someone as powerful as he could produce something so flawed, he attempted to crush the piece and start anew. Just as his hand was about to close upon the deficient fragment, it jumped out of his hand and glowed a deep, inky black. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to manage to catch the shard as it danced and jumped on the floor. He reluctantly spat out a final name. Killian. Determined to put something so useless in its rightful place, the deity banished his youngest son into the depths of the earth without so much as a second glance. And thus was born the Ruler of the Underworld.

Liam, Graham, and August trained mercilessly under their father for centuries before taking their rightful stations. Filled with his anger and vengeful soul, they tormented their subjects.

Sailors and fisherman alike were tortured by dangerous currents and impenetrable seawalls. Lost ships rattled the seas while Liam's raucous laughter streaked through the sky as lightning that split the darkness with the only vestiges of light left in this dark world.

Armies of woodland nymphs and sinister goblins dashed through the forests under Graham's instruction filling the villager's hearts with thoughts of battle and death.

Nimble hands once used to sculpt, paint, and compose were guided by August and his muses to create deadly weapons, which neighbors never hesitated to use on eachother.

Each brother wanted nothing but to get their revenge, to abuse the mortal world without extinguishing them completely as not to destroy their own fun.

But young Killian wished for nothing but to see the world above.

"Papa! I want to see the sea too papa," he would shout upward.

"What of trees papa? What do the trees look like?" He implored.

"Please! Please let me just see the animals. Let me just see them once." The sounds of his cries echoed in the empty darkness.

Day in and day out he would scream and beg, but never once did his father reply. No one replied. No one ever replied. And so poor little Killian was left in charge of the deep labyrinths of the underworld with no one's guidance, destined to live a life of loneliness and solitude. Until one day when something extraordinary happened.

* * *

"The meadow is just over there mama! Look, the moon is round and bright tonight. There's not even a need for a lantern." The pit pat of tiny footsteps crunching through fallen leaves sliced through the eerie silence. Flashes of blonde seemed to light up the darkness as flaxen braids danced wildly in the wind.

"Emma! You must remember the full moon tempts many children into the darkness." A pale woman with obsidian hair warned as the girl skipped in the tall grass. "Beware of the four brothers, my love."

"Of course, mama."

Dancing through what was left of her world's verdure Princess Emma quickly forgot about the warnings of sinister men. Tiny eager hands blindly searched for the bright little pretty things her Granny had described earlier. Flowers, she called them, a beautiful relict of a time before endless darkness. It was in that moment that she heard it.

"Papa please! Just this once, please!" It sounded like nothing more than the wind at first, a muffle in the breeze, but her back straightened and her ears perked up nonetheless.

"Papa please! Let me out just for a minute, a second." Searching for the source of the plaintive cries, the princess crouched onto the hard earth and placed her ear to the ground.

"Papa! Papa just give me a chance! Please!" The sound was a boy. He was crying.

"Mama! Mama! There's a boy! He's trapped in the ground!" Frantically, Emma searched for her mother, but all she could see was a seemingly endless meadow. Blinded by the tears and the darkness, she ran without direction in search of her mother.

The cries became louder, more frantic, which just made the young toddler that much more desperate. Cupping her hands into the shape of cone she shouted as loudly as she could.

"Don't worry! I'll help you! My mama and I will help you." Despite the fact that she had yelled as loudly as she could, the young boy had not heard her. Tears of frustration streaked down her face as she banged on the frozen ground with tiny fists.

"I wish I could help you! I wish you were standing next to me!" A gust of warmth engulfed the grove. It had been centuries since something that warm had touched the earth in the Enchanted Forest and all of the trees and bushes stood at attention. Mist rose as the ground beneath her began to tremble. A scream lodged itself in her throat, fighting the tight constriction of her chest in an attempt to escape and fill the air. But just as quickly as it had descended, the mist cleared and standing in the darkness was a little boy.

Rubbing her eyes, Emma checks to make sure that what she was seeing was indeed real. A boy? A young boy her age? How wonderful! There were no other children. She finally had someone to play with. She sprinted over excitedly and gripped the confused boy's hands.

"Do you want to play?" She asked breathlessly.

He squinted against the glowing moon, the white shimmery orb too bright against his pale blue eyes. Even eternal night seemed like an illuminated haven compared to his underworld dungeon. Questions raced through his mind, unburrowing themselves from hidden crevices like woodland creatures emerging after a long winter's sleep. Where was he? How did he get here? Who was the little sprite that swayed before him?

"Play?" The word felt foreign but welcoming on his lips, like a visitor walking into a lonely home.

"Yes! Play! There aren't many children in this realm anymore. My Granny said it was because of a curse, but I'm not sure what that means. I just know that it gets awful lonely. Anyhow, I'm looking for something called a flower. Want to help?" She rambled aimlessly, but with such zeal that Killian couldn't help but gape.

She was no sprite at all. She was a _mortal_. Something his father had called a _human_. He should have have been filled hate, but all he felt was the hard, steady pounding in his chest. She made his heart race. Her smile warmed him to the core. Slamming his eyes shut he dug through the slivers of memory his father infused into his brain before abandoning him in the underworld. He could feel it forming in his hand. A sturdy stem. Soft petals. Pale pink, like her dress.

She shrieked with excitement as she snatched the peony out of his hand while Killian watched her with amazement.

"Do it again! Do it again!" She clapped.

Colorful clouds puffed all around her and before she knew it, she was surrounded by a meadow filled with pink peonies.

He felt her sharp tug. His feet were moving in time with hers as she ran wildly, the perfume of the flowers intermixing with her own soft scent. For the first time in his life, Killian laughed. The sound was strange to his ears, but he found that he rather enjoyed it nonetheless. He followed her and in the moment he decided that he would follow her for the rest of his life.

Day in and day out, the princess sought out her new playmate. A simple "I wish…" and like magic, he would appear in front of her, his bright blue eyes shining with equal parts gratitude and excitement. Together they danced to made up songs and told each other fanciful stories. He showed her roses and tulips. She rewarded him with tight hugs and shy kisses on the cheek.

As the seasons turned and the years passed, the playful child grew into a young lady. She was forced to spend more of her days reciting poetry and practicing her writing, yet she still ran to the meadow to meet her old friend in the grove. He too, was beginning to grow and their games changed as well. They became riskier, more daring as the two threw bargains and deals, challenges and dares at each other.

"If I win this round, you must give me something special, Emma." Killian declared proudly as he moved the little marble dexterously between his two hands behind his back.

"What shall I give you?" She asked through playful giggles.

"Nothing you can't give up"

"Hmm... how shall I know if I am willing to give it up if you haven't told me what it is?" She retorted with a smirk. "Besides, what if I win?"

"I suppose you're right." He conceded with a slight chuckle. "If you win, I shall show you the sun again. If I win…" his eyes flicked upward as if deep in thought "you owe me a kiss," he finished with a grin.

Emma was so enamored by the glowing ball in Killian's hand that she gave him a kiss on the cheek anyway.

Autumns melted into springs, springs dissolved into hazy summers, summers cooled into crisp autumns, and autumns froze to desolate winters. Each turn of the calendar hardened the girl until she became a young woman embittered by the darkness of her world. Responsibilities and duties made her weary and disheartened while the demands of court life and expectations of royal blood disillusioned her. So much so that she forgot about flowers and the sun and the boy with the dark hair and bright blue eyes.

"Emma, come play with me! I've grown you a meadow filled with pink flowers. Come see! Come see!"

But Emma never came and Killian watched his sea of amaranth wilt and fade into ash from below.


	2. Chapter 1: I Wish

**Chapter 1: I Wish**

"Oh, Emma how I wish I had hair that looked like yours," Ruby gushed while she fussed impatiently with her brown curls. The constant pulling and prodding, curling then straightening then recurling, turned Ruby's normally smooth brunette locks into a veritable bird's nest, complete with fun surprises hidden inside. Leaning over, Emma snatched a hairpin that had been dangling precariously on the side of her head before meeting her eyes in the mirror with a smirk . Emerald green reflected off of bright hazel.

"And how I wish I didn't have to go to this ball," she huffed as she pulled harshly at the lace finishing on the sleeve of her gown. "If only our wishes had power," she added wistfully.

"Don't be like that Emma," Ruby admonished gently as she lightly tugged on an errant strand of her friend's blonde hair. "Perhaps you shall meet a prince worthy of your love tonight."

"Unlikely."

"Oh? What about Prince Bae?" Unaware of the sudden shift in mood, Ruby began to fumble through her drawers once again in search for more ornaments to place in her hair. The clink and clatter of makeup brushes sliced through the silence that began to settle in the room.

Eyes narrowing, Emma attempted to study Ruby once again the mirror. "What about him?" she finally spat, not even attempting to hide the sneer on her face or the contempt in her voice.

"Is he not your," Ruby glanced back and furth furtively before finishing with a whisper "paramour?"

"Did he tell you that?" The sound of Emma's voice, usually melodic and calm, came out as a shrill shriek, less of a question and more of an accusation.

"No... Victor-" Before Ruby could finish, the sound of trumpets and other brass horns filled the air. Glancing out the window, the two girls began to see the dark clouds of kicked up sand that signaled the arrival of horses and carriages. The moon was finally beginning to rise and the entire scene was bathed in a rich silver glow. Throwing open the window, Ruby craned her neck and squinted to see if she could identify the flag, thrashing wildly in the wind, carried by soldier that lead the pack. The air bit mercilessly at her face, a sure sign that autumn was ending and another turn of the calendar was approaching.

Once upon a time before the curse, one could apparently tell the changing of the seasons based on the trees. During autumn the leaves on the trees turned red and blazed orange and old. Grandmother Wolf had told many fanciful stories about the fairytale that was autumn. Back then, autumn meant that the air was crisp and the sun, a big ball of warmth that sat high in the sky, gently warmed your face and cast a golden light over your favorite book as you read in a cozy corner of the grove. Now, all anyone had to go by was the changing of temperatures followed by a period of death and stagnation. The grass, what was left of it, would soon wilt into hard nubs that hurt to walk on as all of the animals disappeared only to return again when the warm breezes returned. However, each year the animals returned fewer in numbers and the foliage grew back in sparser quantities.

Ruby can hear their grandmother's voice echoing in her head."The four brothers will soon destroy our lands as we know it unless we can break their curse with the most powerful magic of all. True love."

But what did that old bat know, Ruby thought to herself. The curse came long before even she was born and will continue to ravage the lands long after she was gone.

As the carriages approached, the mahogany and forest green stripes became more apparent. The colors of Sherwood Forest.

"Regina's going to be in a good mood," Ruby remarked to no one in particular.

Before Queen Snow and King David took the throne, Princess Regina was the one slated to inherit the Enchanted Forest. Cora and Leopold had made it abundantly clear that Snow was too soft and fanciful to run the kingdom and that Regina was the one who had the strength to ensure that war would never cross into their borders. Unbeknownst to everyone but Snow, Regina had no interest in becoming Queen. She had fallen in love with their stable boy, Daniel, and had concocted an elaborate plan to run away with him. True love, she called it. Unfortunately, a miscommunication between Snow and Regina led to a moment of poor timing.

 _Harsh. Sharp. Metallic._

At three, it was the first time Ruby had ever caught the scent of blood in the air.

Ruby remembered the moments that followed clearly. Regina was inconsolable and spent the next few years designing powerful weapons of destruction.

"She has been taken by August. There is nothing we can do now except for hope that she will somehow perish before she can cause any real destruction," Grandmother Wolf would often comment with a judgemental click of the tongue as she walked past Regina's closed chamber door.

Everyone feared for the worst until the day King David signed the trade treaty with King Robin of Sherwood.

"You think he'll finally go through with the last stages of the courtship tonight?" Ruby asked as she turned back to her friend. "Maybe we'll finally be able to celebrate a new marriage."

Emma shrugged, her anger seeming to dissipate as the tension released from her shoulders. "Better her than me, I guess."

Picking up the silver hairbrush, Ruby moved to stand behind Emma. Adroitly, she moved the soft bristles through Emma's already silky hair.

"If you don't want to get married, you should tell your parents. They'll understand. No one said anything when I announced my desire to remain alone."

"Yeah, but that's because-" Emma had to bite her tongue to make sure she didn't say it out loud.

"You can say it," Ruby replied with a smile. "Because I'm a wolf." Just for show, she ran her tongue across her sharp canines.

Emma attempted to throw a simmering glare at Ruby only to have it extinguished with a fit of giggles. The wolf's attempt to level a look of an unyielding flame was thwarted by her own hoots of laughter. "Put your fangs away before you hurt yourself."

Before Ruby had a chance to reply, the air was filled with the booming sound of bugles.

"Announcing the arrival of the Kingdoms Sherwood and Neverland." The generic voice of a Castle's Guard reverberated through the walls of the small room.

"I guess that's our cue," Emma sighed with an air of defeat. Ruby couldn't help but notice the heaviness that plagued the princess's normally graceful and animated steps. Something was amiss here and she was determined to find out.

* * *

Royal balls were reserved for special occasions and special occasions only. With all of the lands suffering at the hands of the curse, food and resources were growing increasingly harder to come by. Every kingdom, even one as affluent and blessed as the Enchanted Forest, had their fair share of starving villages. Oz was currently in the midst of attempting to mitigate a civil war that had emerged as a result of a grain shortage. Perhaps that was why Queen Snow was feeling so anxious.

"No," she thought to herself. "That wasn't the reason." She wrung her hands nervously as her mind wandered back to the conversation she had with the Mother Superior, Blue herself.

 _"What are you saying Blue? My daughter, my Emma is the one who's supposed to break the curse?"_

 _"Yes, my queen. It is prophesied that she is the princess with the power to control the Four Brothers. She will be the one to end their reign of terror."_

 _"But how?"_

 _"She must marry before the next full moon if she is to break the curse as the prophecy has predicted."_

 _"That's in less than 4 weeks! There's not enough time."_

 _"It must happen my Queen or we shall all starve and pass before the next turn of the calendar."_

Sensing his wife's unease, King David gently placed his hands on her shoulders, grounding her once again to reality. "I can hear you thinking. Stop worrying so much. Everything will be perfect." Her husband's placid baritone pulled her from her racing thoughts.

"I know David, I just can't but feel like we're doing Emma a disservice through this trickery." This plan made her nervous. Nervous that it wouldn't work. Nervous that the prophecy was wrong. But most importantly, nervous that she was sending her daughter away with a dishonorable man.

"It is not trickery, Snow. What royal family does not arrange the marriages of their children." His attempts to lighten the moment did not go unnoticed and yet did not manage to have their desired effect.

"But is it what we should be doing as parents?" The question slipped out as a whisper, an unconscious thought that had fought through all of her better judgement.

"We are not just parents Snow. We are the King and Queen of the Enchanted Forest and we must also protect our people." There was a tone of finality in his voice that made Snow back down from whatever she was going to say next. Defeated, she placed her hand in her husband's as the two of them entered the ballroom.

The main hall was cavernous in so far that it was an actual cavern carved out to be an homage to the traditional ballrooms before the Curse of Eternal Darkness. In an attempt to mimic the bright lights and merriment that used to come with balls, icicles of glass dripped from the ceiling, embedded with glowing, glittering chips. A gift from the fairies. Centerpieces were crafted from the finest gems as to look like colorful glowing candles. Scattered around the room were bubbling springs that rose up like fountains that gave off of the faintest of floral scents. Another fairy trick, but an effective way of making the room seem less desolate than it actually was.

A myriad of fairy lights twinkle against the inky darkness. Even the bare branches and dried leaves hanging from the ceiling were vibrant with a certain type of brilliance that made them reminiscent of chandeliers. Bolts of the finest silk and brocade cascaded down the walls, opening up to tapestries of beautiful sunsets. Gold, silver, and other jewels were scattered like confetti, catching the light cast by the magical lights. Everything was opulent to the point of excess in the hopes that all that was cruel in their world would be forgotten, if only for just one night.

The court musicians started a simple waltz, the only thing that any of them really knew how to play. Nonetheless, each of them attempted to throw in their own flourishes. Despite that, it was all wrong. Structured and rational, but nevertheless lifeless, joyless, and constrained. It did not breathe, take flight, or live. Nothing was the same after the Muses turned their loyalties to August.

Sporadically throwing glances at Ruby, Emma wandered around reluctantly and chose to remain on the peripheral of all the pomp after her introduction had been made. Her mother had insisted that she dressed in jewel tones even though all the other ballgoers donned earthen shades. To match your emerald eyes dear.

She turned her head just as Ruby let out a shriek of laughter. Victor, the healer's apprentice from Neverland, had somehow managed to stumble over her feet and fall into a misplaced chair, a sheepish look on his face. No doubt he was trying to impress Ruby. Shaking her head, she made her way over to the fumbling pair before she noticed him approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"Emma, darling." Her name curled on his lips in a sneer. Pressing his hands to her lower back, Bae approached aggressively, thrusting their hips together.

"I'm am not your darling," she bit back forcefully.

"Oh, but you will be soon, darling." He was toying with her and she knew it. Determined to not let him get the best of her, she shoved him away from her with one fast and fluid movement.

Her blood boiled and quickly sent her anger bubbling to the service. "Not after what happened with Tamara. If you know what's best for you, you'd stay the fuck out of my face. Before I get my parents to call the guards on you." Normally she wasn't partial to cursing, but in that moment was blinded by her rage. It scratched and scraped at her until it felt like her insides were burning.

"Didn't your parents tell you?" He cocked his eyebrow upward arrogantly. "We… are to be married."

Time seemed to slow around her. The music, the laughter, the hum of the various conversations happening around her seemed to wilt into a droning hum. She felt like she was drowning, suffocating under the weight of the prince's leer. "What? No, that's not possible," she barely managed to squeak.

"Oh, my dear. Not only is it possible. It's happening tomorrow at sundown."

Blindly shoving her way through the crowd, Emma searched frantically for her parents. It was a lie. It was a trick. He was just trying to get a rise out of her.

"Emma? Emma what's wrong?" Ruby? Was Ruby talking to her? She must be making a scene, but she didn't care. Ducking around her, Emma continued to stalk toward her parents.

"Is it true?"

"Emma what are you-" Snow looked at her daughter with worried eyes.

"Is what he said true?"

Gripping her daughter's hands, Snow attempted to pull her daughter into a hug, half for comfort, half to shield her from the now gawking crowd. "Emma, just let us explain," she whispered imploringly in her ear.

"Oh my God. It is true! How could you do this to me?" Not even giving her the chance to go on with their explanation, Emma sprinted toward the far door. The click clack of her heels echoed as she raced up the stairs before finally crashing into dark meadow above.

"I wish she would just leave me alone. I wish I never had to hear another thing she said to me ever again." It came out as a growl as she sent dirt flying with a violent kick of her sharp heel. Just as words slipped out of her mouth, the air around her grew cold as the world around her darkened. She gasped as the chill invaded her, starting from her toes and working its way up until her whole body was encased in an invisible frozen chamber.

The figure rose from the ground slowly, forebodingly. The dark smoke around him was sinister yet… strangely familiar, comforting. He was clad in all black leather, metal pins, rings, and hooks making him glow in the night. Dark hair stuck up wildly from his head. He was tall and slim, but well muscled. There was grace to every line of his body; elegance was not only in his air, but in the way he moved. He was disastrously beautiful.

"Be careful what you wish for, dear Emma. You never know what might come true." Despite the menacing tone, there was something wistful in his words that belied his cool command of composure. There was something vulnerable, fallible in the way he spoke. She suddenly felt herself drawn to his eyes. They were so impossibly, remarkably blue. For just a moment, she was struck by that feeling of familiarity again. It ticked at her brain, an itch that she could not scratch.

Before she could say anything, another black puff of smoke filled the air.

She saw it just as the smoke was beginning to clear.

Her mother lay unconscious in his arms.

She didn't even have time to scream before they were gone.


End file.
